Energy Management

There are numerous actions a business can take to reduce energy costs and Carbon Reduction Wales. Energy management Servicesplays a key role but it’s also important not to overlook the other end of the process – the steps you take before that precious energy even reaches you; that is, the deal you sign up to and the way you manage energy purchasing.

There are numerous variables, enormous volatility in prices and an endless array of contract options. But while this may be daunting, getting it right can deliver major savings and significant competitive advantages.

The three aspects of buying gas and electricity that make them different from most other products or services you purchase are the timing of the purchase, your company’s appetite for risk and the skills and knowledge needed to get it right.

Timing
Timing is crucial because market prices fluctuate quickly and massively. Some changes are foreseeable, such as seasonal demand, while others, such as unrest in the Middle East, can sometimes be totally unforeseen and could send energy prices soaring in hours.

Consequently, you must clearly understand markets and the forces driving them and constantly monitor them to both take advantage of opportunities as they arise and avoid being caught flat-footed.

Risk
Different businesses have different appetites for risk and this has a profound influence on energy purchasing. Most contracts are either “fixed term” or “flexible”, the latter giving a degree of control over prices and potentially make savings – but at greater risk.

To find a contract with the right level of risk for your business you need to know the options available.

Skills and knowledge
Finally, if you are responsible for energy procurement you must be familiar with the myriad of different opportunities provided by energy suppliers and negotiate with them to get the best deals.

In all these things, familiarity, experience and industry knowledge are crucial. Energy purchasing has become an increasingly specialist full-time role and an industry of experts has grown up to operate between energy suppliers and business users. Companies like UES Energy constantly monitor market fluctuations and the full spectrum of suppliers’ contracts to help clients find the best options.

Read a case study by RUMM on one of their clients – RPC Containers who had a 14% reduction in Specific Energy Consumption (SEC) in the first year.

The Client

The RPC Group is Europe’s leading manufacturer of rigid plastic packaging. With just under 50 autonomous sites in 12 countries, the company employs in excess of 6,500 people.

The Brief

RUMM was asked to investigate energy usage at RPC’s Llantrisant plant and provide solutions and suggestions for reducing the annual energy bill.

The Method

The installation at RPC was carried out in two stages.

Following the completion of the aM&T system, where 17 meters were installed across the site, a benchmarking exercise then took place in order to identify where energy was being used and equally where there was opportunity for savings.
RUMM and RPC then engaged in an energy management partnership to achieve savings. This included regular weekly meetings to discuss options that could save the company money.

The main areas targeted were chippers, high and low pressure compressors, dryers, leak detection, lighting and chillers. Site analysis was carried out based upon production output, and thus specific energy consumption (SEC) was analysed and this was benchmarked to fully understand energy consumption characteristics

The Results

As a result of the measures put in place; energy consumption in the first 5 months was reduced with specific energy consumption reducing by 14%. This equated to a £120k saving in the first year alone.

Why it Worked

The key for the success was the commitment from RPC to control costs and the close working Partnership with RUMM. The general manager was committed to the project and encouraged the whole company to make it a success.

“RUMM pushed us, the staff responded and with a target of a 17% reduction in 2 years, we achieved more than 10% in one year alone. The actions ranged from monitoring and targeting specific areas, to simply installing time switches on lighting – but the savings were there.On behalf of RPC Llantrisant, I have no hesitation in recommending RUMM to reduce your energy consumption.”

RUMM are a leading energy management UK based in Wales who provide Energy Management Solution to customers via their own developed technologies (Pulse & IBASS) and Energy Management Services (EMS).

I can hear you asking what all this means for my company. The simply answer is to reduce energy consumption therefore saving money and contributing to a larger towards saving the planet. Let’s have a look at some of the ways RUMM uses their Energy Management Solutionto assist your business especially Energy Reduction in Manufacturing

Applies RUMM‘s algorithm to calculate the amount of energy which could be saved through changes in scheduling and behavioural methods.

What is Pre Screening Tool (PreST)

PreST analyses the variables in a customer’s energy consumption over a full year

This is a unique approach to evaluate savings opportunity

How does it benefit the customer?

Sites of all shapes and sizes, can ‘save and reduce energy’ with minimum capital expenditure and without compromising production

Analysing a portfolio of sites identifies those who would benefit most from streamlining energy consumption

Effects of energy savings interventions can be easilty assessed through direct comparisons pre and post PreST

PreST compares a site to the best possible operation it’s already achieved, which is particularly useful to large portfolio customers with multiple sites across an organisation.

Does the customer need anything in place?

No prior RUMM/npower products are needed

PreST requires date of a full years’ worth of half hourly energy consumption for the site.

A typical customer might be

Any site that has been in full operation for a year, needing information on their typical energy variation

Companies interested in the potential of their site to save energy, or the potential to save energy across a group of sites.

Take control of your business Energy Management with so many options available and so much information available, how can you get started Reducing Energy Consumption?

First Things First: Understand Your Energy Consumption. The first step to understanding your path to reduced energy consumption is understanding how much energy you use from each energy source and the biggest users of energy at your facility. Consider heating, cooling, and ventilation as well as compressed air and industrial equipment. Once you have identified your largest consumers of energy you will have a good idea of where your biggest opportunities to Reduce Energy Consumption are.

RUMM-USA NEW OFFICES

Plan to review and reduce energy consumption. Included in your plan should be an evaluation of the material condition of equipment and effectiveness of control systems. Everything from a properly functioning and programmed thermostat in the office to properly maintained industrial equipment can impact your ability to reduce energy consumption. Your plan should include regular review of your largest energy consumers.

Do: Based on the information you have gathered, implement efficiency improvements and corrective action, starting with the best conservation measures first (low or no cost, biggest improvements). Don’t forget the no cost conservation measures: things like proper shut-down procedures for off-hours and re-programming thermostats can have a significant impact. Low cost improvements include bringing preventive maintenance schedules up to date and minor repairs such as fixing compressed air leaks.

Check the Results: Periodically check to confirm conservation measures are being followed and maintained. A sub-metering system that helps you monitor energy consumption can measure to confirm improvements and identify when consumption patterns change unexpectedly. Manufacturing facilities should track Specific Energy Consumption (energy consumed per unit of production) to verify conservation measures (Scatter Plots or Control Charts for Specific Energy Consumption can be very helpful).

It is easy to get started, the next time you pay your energy bill, take a walk around your facility and consider where all that energy is being used. Start asking the rest of your team where they think the energy is being used and start putting together a plan for energy conservation. The more people on your team that are talking about and thinking about reducing energy consumption, the less energy you will use.

There are numerous actions that can be taken in the quest for Business energy reduction reducing costs and lower carbon emissions. Energy management plays a key role but it’s also important not to overlook the other end of the process – the steps you take before that precious energy even reaches you; that is, the deal you sign up to and the way you manage energy purchasing.

To do this thoroughly and professionally requires a fully integrated energy strategy that includes the energy purchasing cycle.

Unfortunately, this is often overlooked – sometimes because such measures as incorporating energy management products are more tangible, but often because buying energy cost-effectively is complicated.

There are numerous variables, enormous volatility in prices and an endless array of contract options. But while this may be daunting, getting it right can deliver major savings and significant competitive advantages.

The three aspects of buying gas and electricity that make them different from most other products or services you purchase are the timing of the purchase, your company’s appetite for risk and the skills and knowledge needed to get it right.

Timing
Timing is crucial because market prices fluctuate quickly and massively. Some changes are foreseeable, such as seasonal demand, while others, such as unrest in the Middle East, can sometimes be totally unforeseen and could send energy prices soaring in hours.

Consequently, you must clearly understand markets and the forces driving them and constantly monitor them to both take advantage of opportunities as they arise and avoid being caught flat-footed.

Risk
Different businesses have different appetites for risk and this has a profound influence on energy purchasing. Most contracts are either “fixed term” or “flexible”, the latter giving a degree of control over prices and potentially make savings – but at greater risk.

Skills and knowledge
Finally, if you are responsible for energy procurement you must be familiar with the myriad of different opportunities provided by energy suppliers and negotiate with them to get the best deals.

In all these things, familiarity, experience and industry knowledge are crucial. Energy purchasing has become an increasingly specialist full-time role and an industry of experts has grown up to operate between energy suppliers and business users. Companies like UES Energy constantly monitor market fluctuations and the full spectrum of suppliers’ contracts to help clients find the best options.

Premium airline seating manufacturer Contour Aerospace (now part of Zodiac Aerospace Group), were one company who saw the value in working with energy professionals and following great results from RUMM on their energy management, turned to UES Energy for advice for their energy purchasing.

Finance Director Alison Baker said: “(UES Energy) approach to energy procurement focuses on avoiding unnecessary cost and their advice on the timing of contract placement is backed up with detailed market intelligence. Their quality of service is reassuring and a stark difference to our previous energy broker.”

For more information on how professional energy consultants can help you purchase and manage your energy efficiently and effectively, click here Energy Reduction in Manufacturing.

RUMM have an excellent track record that has taken them to greater heights with theirEnergy Management Servicesand Systems. RUMM offer a first class world renowned service and are committed to business energy reduction. RUMM take their commitment seriously with expanding to the USA, opening up world class offices. I found this recent case study by which RUMM have assisted Doncaster, Blaenavon achieved excellent results in reducing energy consumption and savings.

The Client

Doncasters is a leading international engineering group. It manufactures precision components and assemblies for the aerospace, industrial gas turbines, specialist automotive fasteners and petrochemical markets. Doncasters excels at working with alloys and metals that are difficult to shape and form.

The Brief

With an energy bill of £1.4million at the Doncasters’ Blaenavon site, RUMM was asked to look at ways of reducing energy consumption thus improving profits. The main focus of this was to design and install an automatic monitoring and targeting system (aM&T) to monitor consumption.

The Method

RUMM installed an aM&T system which provided Doncasters with half hourly data in order to identify those areas where savings could be made.

To ensure everyone was able to understand how the system worked and where the plant was using excess energy, the RUMM team worked closely with the incumbent energy team, in order to identify how electricity and gas were being distributed and the key areas in which they were being used.

The Results

By evaluating opportunities for savings within the thermal efficiency field, and optimising ‘waste heat’ to minimise temperature dissipation, RUMM was able to bring energy consumption down by 27%, giving the Blaenavon plant a saving of £1million over 2 years, against a 40% increase in sales.

This success contributed to Doncasters receiving an Energy Management Award. Such was the success of the work in Blaenavon, Doncasters also asked RUMM to install its energy management solution at four other plants in the UK. Since installation, a total of £3.6million has been saved in energy consumption costs, equating to 11,800 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Why it worked

Using RUMM’s technology and energy management expertise allowed Doncasters to clearly identify those areas of high energy consumption and focus its efforts in order to set specific objectives that reduced energy consumption. As well as looking at existing manufacturing methods, the company was able to test, prior to installation, proposed new systems to evaluate future energy consumption.

“The service we have had from RUMM has been first class. Such was the project’s initial success, we installed at a further four sites and continue to look at other sites where RUMM’s intelligent monitoring can be used”

Group Energy Manager, Doncasters

Do you need help in reducing energy consumption and therefore save money? Would you like your company to achieve excellent results in Energy Reduction in Manufacturing?

This hub is the perfect location for RUMM-USA, as the state-of-the-art communication services mirrors our commitment to our customers, allowing us to offer the very best access to our energy management support services.

As RUMM-USA expands our operations here in the US, with more energy managers offering direct support, our new office location is perfect to adapt to our quickly expanding team allowing us to address the demands that clients expect and should receive.

This move has been supported by the Collier County Economic Development team who are excited that RUMM-USA has chosen Naples as our corporate office location.

But don’t just take our word for it – we invite you to get in touch with us and arrange to meet to discuss your company’s energy management needs – RUMM-USA, Your Best Energy Management Option.

Not only have RUMM USA moved to new offices the company is constantly expanding along with their large client base with a recent appointment of Dan Bangs as Vice President.

RUMMEnergy Management Solutions UKare a team of passionate individuals who are progressive in their approach making them one of the leaders in Business energy reduction.

They are constantly partnering with large corporate companies who are equally passionate about reducing energy consumption and saving money. RUMM use leading edge technology and committed to the environment making sure they play their part in this changing world.

RUMM Energy Management Services have begun working with Turbine Efficiency Power Services Limited, who specialise in providing electrical power solutions globally. The company is progressive and fast growing and has developed a holistic approach to the power needs of its customers.

With Turbine Efficiency looking after the energy supply side for their customers, RUMM will concentrate on reducing the amount of energy consumed by the user.

The first opportunity to develop a Supply & Demand offering with Turbine Efficiency has been at a large chemical manufacturing facility in Barcelona (pictured above). Following an extensive site study (in the January sun!) a full analysis will be undertaken by both companies to understand how much the customer could benefit from a joint Supply & Demand Side Management approach.

RUMM are very pleased to be linked to such a progressive company as Turbine Efficiency. We are excited by the business prospects and customer benefits that should result from this offering.